Site Access across commonage

mazzoo

Hi everyone, I have seen a site I like but it would need a driveway / access building across common land. Full Planning has been granted previously and the position for the driveway was in the planning as a condition but no mention was made of it going across common land.
  The site itself includes a share of the commonage but the bulk of the site itself is not commonage. I'm aware that usually you need all the shareholder's permissions to make changes. What I find odd is how this is not mentioned in the planning application or decision.  There are 2 houses in the area that also have access across commonage land and in fact are built directly on it,  so what's the position here in a legal sense?  Could this type of access come back to bit you on the bum at a later date?

mickdw

Not good imo.
If it's commonage and you buy into the commonage when purchasing the site, I guess you have permission to cross that land for farming purposes. I don't believe that you would be legally able to construct a road on.
I wouldn't buy that site without taking ownership of the access. This would require all concerned parties signing out.
On the other hand, if the site plot is enclosed and has been like this for numerous years and this is the only access, there may be a right of way to the site / field.

mazzoo

I think it would have access by necessity as it is landlocked and there has been a track going across the land for access.
Maybe I would need to get the seller to register the right of way before sale?  Even so I don't think that gives the right for building a driveway for vehicular access even though it was approved at one time.

Metric Tensor

Planning approval does not convey any legal rights.

They are two completely separate issues.

There may have been previous planning permission to build an access road but that does not mean that anyone ever had the legal rights or ownership to act on that planning permission.